Hull City owners Assem and Eham Allam tell sport editor Paul Baxter what promotion to the Premier League means.
STARING out at thousands of jubilant Hull City fans from the directors box, Assem Allam admits his mind flashed back to the night he bought the club.
Back in December 2010, he and son Ehab decided to spend the incredible amount of £27m to prevent the Tigers going out of business.
Given they could have allowed City to go into administration – and picked up the club for £1 just four days later – their decision that day is all the more staggering.
Today though, with the Tigers now looking towards life in the Premier League, the Allams say the scenes of joy at the KC on Saturday have made their investment, which now tops £65m, worthwhile.
"It was wonderful to see the fans in front of us, and those with the signs thanking us, as we know they are genuine," Assem Allam said.
"We are grateful and that is very encouraging for us.
"When we were looking to buy the club and our advisers said we were spending £27m of dead money to the taxman and two banks, we could have said no.
"Four days later, we could have bought the club for £1 from the administrator but we didn't want the club to go into freefall.
"Now, having gone into the Premier League, and seeing what it means to all of our fans on Saturday, it shows that we did the right thing for the community, and now we have delivered what it wants.
"I was told by someone at the FA that it is a record for a club to bounce back from effectively being out of business and back into the Premier League. That is something to be very proud of.
"We are an example to the rest of football, and I hope we can help inspire others, as we have shown that you should never give up hope."
Still coming to terms with the club's promotion to the Premier League, the Allams admit their nerves are still settling after the most dramatic of afternoons at the KC.
They had both arrived in relaxed mood, and revealed how manager Steve Bruce had let them into his plan to switch formation for the game.
"We knew he was changing things but we it was needed after the past three games. There was nothing to lose," Ehab said.
"It was only when I got to the stadium that the nerves kicked in, but we came out playing at a high tempo and energy, and the fans were fantastic and right behind them.
"It just had a nice atmosphere about the stadium and we played very well."
As manager Steve Bruce had warned, City were not a side to do it the easy way, but leading 2-1 heading into stoppage time, a foul on David Meyler brought a penalty, and while fans ran onto the pitch in premature celebration, Ehab Allam admitted it was mirrored in the directors box.
"When we got the penalty, I was jumping up and punching the air and hugging people because we thought we were there. We thought that was it," he said.
"Then obviously to miss the penalty and see Cardiff go straight down the other end was agony. It turned on its head in a second."
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That penalty goal for Cardiff, ensuring the game ended 2-2, left the Allams, Steve Bruce, and thousands of City fans waiting for an agonising 15 minutes for the final whistle at Watford.
It sent Ehab straight to the televisions in the chairman's suite, and his father contemplating the worst.
"I was straight in to watch it on the television and the first thing I saw was a couple of really good shots and a double save from the Leeds keeper," said Ehab.
"What was on my mind all the time was looking at the stadium and the fans, and I was saying 'Please God, I don't want to let them down'," said Assem.
"That's really the thing that controlled my mind. To see 20,000 fans so excited and to be let down in the last minute would have been terrible."
Thankfully, such worry, although seemingly for an eternity, was only short-lived.
Leeds scored a vital late winner, sending the Allams, and the entire KC Stadium, into party mode.
"When Leeds scored, I think at first it was jubilation and we just celebrated," said Ehab. "Then there was a sense of relief. Then seeing all the fans on the pitch, it was just huge pride."
For Assem, now 73, it goes down as "the proudest day of my life'"
"Even today I have imagined how it would have been had we not have been promoted," he said at his son's home yesterday.
"I still think now, it could have been so different, and I wonder how would we all have coped?
"In a way, though, I am glad now we didn't win at Barnsley. It worked out for the best.
"Had we won at Barnsley, we wouldn't have had that great day at the KC Stadium.
"Now, though, we all got to enjoy those great scenes, and it can't be better than being promoted to the Premier League at home.
"The fans were absolutely brilliant and we want to thank them for the way they supported the team. They made a big difference.
"I am just glad I was alive to see it."
